Tag: summer reads

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Book Reviews contemporary romance ya fiction

At First Blush – Book Review

Summary:

Who would have thought that a teenager could have a successful career creating makeup tutorial videos on YouTube? For Lacey Robbins, this dream has been her reality. An up-and-coming YouTuber, she has thousands of fans and can’t wait for the day when her subscriber count reaches the one million mark. And when she is offered a high school internship at On Trend Magazine, she figures that this could be the make it or break it moment.

But sometimes your dream job isn’t all that it seems. Her editor is only interested in promoting junk products, and her boss in the Hair and Makeup department introduces her to the larger world of makeup artistry, making her wonder if making tutorials online is all she is meant to do. To top it all off, when the magazine’s feature subject, musician Tyler Lance, turns his broodingly handsome smile her way, falling for him could mean losing her fans, forcing her to make a decision: her YouTube life or her real life?

Review:

I loved this book so much! Spring has sprung, and I am fully in the mood for all of the contemporary books. This book definitely didn’t disappoint me!

LaceyBlushes gets the chance of a lifetime when she’s selected for an internship at a magazine, where she’ll vlog all the behind-the-scenes deeds about the magazine’s guest editor, but the experience isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Lacey finds that while things are going great for her YouTube channel, she is losing her passion for making videos. And to top it all off, she’s falling for someone that she never expected to.

I think that this book really did a great job of portraying that sometimes our dreams aren’t all they’re made out to be, and that sometimes we may think that we know what we want in life, when in reality we don’t. I think that that is something that scares a lot of people, myself included. With my college graduation nearing in a couple months, I’m absolutely terrified that once I actually get into the field, I’m not going to love my profession. Only time will tell.

One thing that bothered me about this book was Lacey’s obliviousness to things that were blatantly obvious to everyone else. Over time, this changes though, and Lacey realizes what an idiot she’s been about many things, and things start looking up for her.

I give this book 4.5/5 stars. At First Blush goes on sale April 4.

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Book Reviews

The Unexpected Everything – Book Review

The Unexpected Everything

Summary:

Andie has a plan. And she always sticks to her plan.

Future? A top-tier medical school.
Dad? Avoid him as much as possible (which isn’t that hard considering he’s a Congressman and he’s never around).
Friends? Palmer, Bri, and Toby—pretty much the most awesome people on the planet, who needs anyone else?
Relationships? No one’s worth more than three weeks.

So it’s no surprise that Andie’s got her summer all planned out too.

Until a political scandal costs Andie her summer pre-med internship, and lands both she and Dad back in the same house together for the first time in years. Suddenly she’s doing things that aren’t Andie at all—working as a dog walker, doing an epic scavenger hunt with her dad, and maybe, just maybe, letting the super cute Clark get closer than she expected. Palmer, Bri, and Toby tell her to embrace all the chaos, but can she really let go of her control?

 

Review:

It’s official: I love Morgan Matson’s writing. Everything about her books makes me so happy, and I love that she has the ability to surprise me throughout the course of her novels. Morgan’s characters have real problems and face real issues that they must overcome. The characters in The Unexpected Everything have a great dynamic.

Andie learns a lot about herself and her friends throughout the course of the novel. Throughout the obstacles that she faces, she learns to not take everything so seriously and to live in the now instead of always planning ahead for her future.

The Unexpected Everything makes me wish that summer was still here and that I could take a few lessons from Andie and live a little bit more in the now. Morgan Matson has easily worked her way onto my list of auto-buy authors.

I give The Unexpected Everything 5/5 stars. It is a perfect summer read, or for when you’re just in the mood for a cute, happy contemporary read. You can order it by clicking on the cover image at the top of this post.

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Blog Tours Book Reviews

Summer of Irreverence – The Rock Star—Blog Tour and Book Review

Summer of Irreverence tour banner

Click on the tour banner above to see the list of the other great blogs that have featured Summer of Irreverence – The Rock Star on this tour!

Summer of Irreverence - The Rock Star—Book Review

Summary:

Straight-laced, veterinary surgeon, Summer Wynters is ready to break the rules. And who better to break them with than the most irreverent of all men, mega rock star Malcolm Angel? With one last summer free from work obligations, Summer moves to New York City, and at the coaxing of her friend, pretends to be a model so she can spend one wild night with Malcolm.

Rock star, Malcolm Angel, tortured by a dark past, may be the poet laureate of romance, but he, like science-minded Summer, has never believed in romantic love. How could he? With his history, he doesn’t deserve to be loved.

When Summer’s honesty, kindness, and exuberance for life changes his perspective, the two discover they are in deeper than either dreamed possible. But when Malcolm discovers Summer’s been perpetuating a lie, will he forgive her? Even if forgiveness is possible, can a man immune to love teach someone else to believe in it?

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Review:

This is the perfect summer read for a day at the beach or something else relaxing. It was the perfect blend of sexy and entertaining, and I could not turn the pages fast enough.

I found this story to be relatable, despite how unlikely the whole scenario might seem. Summer and Jeanette’s friendship and dynamic reminded me a lot of the way that my best friend and I act with one another. I could totally see myself setting her up with some guy for a hot, steamy night of fun. They are always there for one another, even though sometimes get a little rocky, and I think that is true for a lot of best friends.

Summer and Malcolm both really matured and grew a lot throughout the course of the book, and it was great to see the changes slowly unfold through the story, but sometimes I just wanted to slap them across the face and tell them to open their eyes. If only they knew what the reader can obviously see was going on.

I am looking forward to seeing what other delights Cathrine Goldstein brings with the rest of The New York Artists series.

I give Summer of Irreverence – The Rock Star 5/5 stars. You can purchase it from Amazon by clicking on the book’s cover image below:

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Blog Tours Book Reviews

Game of Fear – Blog Tour and Book Review

Game of Fear tour banner

Click on the tour banner above to see the list of the other great blogs featuring Game of Fear on this tour!

Game of Fear - Book Review

Summary:

Sometimes, good girls do very bad things…

Academic overachiever and popular good girl Abbie Cooper is used to being in control, and strives to keep it that way. As senior year at her elite New England private school kicks off, she’s focused on one goal: getting into the Ivy League. But even good girls have dark secrets. One morning, Abbie discovers a cryptic note in her locker, (“I know what you did, hypocrite! Justice will be served, The Avenger.”) Then a photo arrives in the mail. It captures in great detail the explosive secret she’s kept hidden from everyone—the shocking blunder that could get her expelled from Saint Matthews Academy, and keep her out of the Ivy League for good.

Determined to protect her future and the people she loves, Abbie is drawn into a diabolical game of blackmail, cyber spying, and deception. For $50,000, the mystery girl known as The Avenger assures Abbie that her secret will remain safe. There’s only one problem: The Avenger may not exist at all. So who’s stalking Abbie with anonymous text messages that disappear after they’ve been read? Who’s out to ruin her and why? To uncover the horrifying truth, Abbie must play the game, all the way to its stunning conclusion.

Review:

I was on the edge of my seat the entire time that I was reading this book. I kept trying to figure out who was behind the mysterious messages that Abbie was receiving, but could not for the life of me figure it out. Which is exactly the way that I like books like this to go. I can’t stand when the outcome of a book is so predictable, so to be able to go through the entire thing without being able to decipher who the culprit was is something that I loved about this book. That being said, there were some clues throughout that I noticed in hindsight, but they were subtle.

I feel as though this book was warning me to always be conscientious of what I am doing and who is around because not only do you never know who your actions will affect, but you also never know when your actions will come back to bite you in the ass. Unfortunately, this is a lesson that Abbie learns the hard way.

This book was pretty swoon-worthy (hello, Christian!) and was a pretty fast read for me. I’m actually rather excited that there will be a sequel to this book, as I’m not quite ready to give these characters up just yet. I give this book 4/5 stars. You can order Game of Fear by clicking on the image below:

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Book Reviews

Into the Dim – Book Review

Into the Dim - Book Review

Plot:

Being “the homeschooled girl,” in a small town, Hope Walton’s crippling phobias and photographic memory don’t help her fit in with her adoptive dad’s perfectly blonde Southern family. But when her mother is killed in a natural disaster thousands of miles from home, Hope’s secluded world crumbles. After an aunt she’s never met invites her to spend the summer in Scotland, Hope discovers that her mother was more than a brilliant academic. She’s a member of a secret society of time travelers, and is actually trapped in the twelfth century in the age of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Now Hope must conquer her numerous fears and travel back in time to help rescue her mother before she’s lost for good. Along the way, she’ll discover more family secrets, and a mysterious boy who could be vital to setting her mother free… or the key to Hope’s undoing.

Review:

I adored everything about this book. There was so much detail and thought put into every word on the page. The story captivated me from the beginning and kept me hanging in until the very last page.

Hope has had a bit of a difficult life. She has total recall, so she basically has the world’s best photographic memory. This gives Hope some problems, like occasionally she is just bombarded with information that her brain is feeding her, causing her to overload. Totally understandable. Hope has also never really felt like she fit in, and for good reason (though I won’t get into that here).

Once Hope travels to Scotland to meet her mysterious aunt, her whole life as she’s known it is flipped upside down, and she does surprisingly well with handling the information being thrust upon her.

A few aspects of this book were—wait for it—slightly predictable. I don’t know if it is just because I read so much and can see plot twists coming from miles away, or if these things were just blatant, but it didn’t affect how much I enjoyed the book. Rather it just made me burst out with a “Ugh I knew that was going to happen!”, to which my boyfriend gave me a puzzled look. Other than that, this book was fantastic.

I give this book 4/5 stars, and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series when it comes out. You can order Into the Dim by clicking on the book’s cover image below:

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Categories
Book Reviews

The Body Institute – Book Review

The Body Institute - Book Review

Plot:

Meet Morgan Dey, one of the top teen Reducers at The Body Institute.

Thanks to cutting-edge technology, Morgan can temporarily take over another girl’s body, get her in shape, and then return to her own body-leaving her client slimmer, more toned, and feeling great. Only there are a few catches…

For one, Morgan won’t remember what happens in her “Loaner” body. Once she’s done, she won’t recall walks with her new friend Matt, conversations with the super-cute Reducer she’s been text-flirting with, or the uneasy feeling she has that the director of The Body Institute is hiding something. Still, it’s all worth it in the name of science. Until the glitches start…

Suddenly, residual memories from her Loaner are cropping up in Morgan’s mind. She’s feeling less like herself and more like someone else. And when protests from an anti-Body Institute organization threaten her safety, she’ll have to decide if being a Reducer is worth the cost of her body and soul…

Review:

From the second I got the email about the opportunity to review this book, I knew I had to read it. The description just hooked me and this book didn’t disappoint me in the slightest.

For Morgan, working out is something that she enjoys doing. In society, people are rewarded for being in “good shape”, and they are penalized and fined for being overweight. This is supposed to encourage people to stay in shape so as to relieve stress on the health care system.

From this emerges the Body Institute, where people who are struggling with their weight can go to have someone else’s consciousness implanted into their body to lose the weight, and then after the weight loss is complete, the original person’s consciousness is then restored into the body. Seems like the perfect way to lose weight for all of the lazy people who can afford to do so.

For most people, the idea of the Body Institute is something that just is—it’s not too outlandish to imagine that it is necessary. Some people are concerned by the technology that the system uses, especially those of older generations who aren’t too tech-savvy. But there are a group of protestors who will do anything to see the Body Institute taken down.

Throughout the progression of this book, we see Morgan go from being completely trusting of the technology used to perform the transfers, to a little skeptical, and then questioning everything about the program. Turns out that the program isn’t exactly what she thought it was, and she makes it her personal mission to let everyone know what’s really going on.

The way this society is so obsessed with weight and image is only a slight exaggeration of what our current society looks like. Is it really so hard to imagine that people are so obsessed with weight loss and looking thin that the government would step in and do something to aid the obsession? Not really.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Categories
Book Reviews

The Heartbreakers – Book Review

The Heartbreakers - Book Review

Plot:

“When I met Oliver Perry, I had no clue he was the lead singer for The Heartbreakers. And he had no idea that I was the only girl in the world who hated his music.”

Stella will do anything for her sick sister, Cara—even stand in line for an autographed Heartbreakers CD…for four hours. She’s totally winning best birthday gift this year. At least she met a cute boy with soft brown hair and gorgeous blue eyes while getting her caffeine fix. Too bad she’ll never see him again.

Except, Stella’s life has suddenly turned into a cheesy love song. Because Starbucks Boy is Oliver Perry—lead singer for the Heartbreakers. And even after she calls his music crap, Oliver still gives Stella his phone number. And whispers quotes from her favorite Disney movie in her ear. OMG, what is her life?

But how can Stella even think about being with Oliver—dating and laughing and pulling pranks with the band—when her sister could be dying of cancer?

Review

The Heartbreakers was one of those books where when I was reading it, I was constantly smiling at how cute the story was. Not only did I enjoy it, but I actually wanted the book to have the stereotypical happy ending, which isn’t often the case with me, I tend to want more out of the box, unexpected endings.

Throughout the book, Stella, the main character, really develops from a girl who is afraid to try anything new than what she already knows to a girl who is willing to take risks even though she might get hurt in the end. With the help of her brother and sister, she realizes that things are not always going to be exactly the same, that the three of them aren’t always going to be living at home together and that eventually Stella needs to spread her wings and try to fly.

Stella meets the lead singer of The Heartbreakers—basically this book’s version of One Direction—at a Starbucks. If only things like this could actually happen in real life, am I right? But Stella, who hates the band solely on principle, has no clue who he is, and flirts with him because she finds him attractive. Later on, she discovers that the boy she is crushing on is Oliver Perry, the same boy who fronts the band she despises.

As fate would have it, through an interesting series of events, Stella begins working for the band as their photographer and blogger. As time passes, Stella not only becomes more confident in her photography, but she starts to become friends with the guys of the band and realizes that just because they sing “bubblegummy” music doesn’t necessarily mean that that is who they actually are.

I thought that this book was a really entertaining read, and it had me rushing to get through it to see how it was going to end. I love to guess how books are going to end, and while I wasn’t completely right, I did get a lot of the main things down. I was really excited when I discovered that this book is part one of a series, wherein each of the four books will chronicle the story of one of the four guys who make up The Heartbreakers. Needless to say, I am looking forward to reading the rest of them.

I give this book 5/5 stars for being cute and making me not want to put it down.

The Heartbreakers goes on sale August 4. You can preorder it by clicking on the book’s cover image above.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Categories
Book Reviews

Confessions of a Queen B* – Book Review

Confessions of a Queen B* - Book Review

Plot:

Alexis Wyndham is the other type of Queen B—the Queen Bitch.

After years of being the subject of ridicule, she revels in her ability to make the in-crowd cower via the exposés on her blog, The Eastline Spy. Now that she’s carved out her place in the high school hierarchy, she uses her position to help the unpopular kids walking the hallways.

Saving a freshman from bullies? Check.
Swapping insults with the head cheerleader? Check.
Falling for the star quarterback? So not a part of her plan.

But when Brett offers to help her solve the mystery of who’s posting X-rated videos from the girls’ locker room, she’ll have to swallow her pride and learn to see past the high school stereotypes she’s never questioned—until now.

Review:

I did not want to put this book down the entire time I was reading it, I enjoyed it that much.

This book had content that I could really relate to. The main character of the book, Alexis, runs a blog chronicling all of the drama that goes on at her high school and exposing people’s wrongdoings, both students and teachers alike. This is somewhat along the lines of an idea that my best friend and I had in high school, so I was very entertained by it.

Alexis prides herself on being the Queen Bitch of the school, the person that everyone is afraid of. People are afraid to be around her because they don’t want to give her any ideas for an exposé to put on her blog. Even though she will stick up for the kids who aren’t popular and in power, she doesn’t go easy on them either, and tells them that they need to stand up for themselves.

Alexis is a prime example of doing something to the extreme in order to cope with a past trauma. The entire reason that she starts her blog is because she got burned by her former best friend, who decided to expose all of Alexis’ secrets from her diary to the entire school. She decides that she is tired of the popular kids being able to get away with whatever they want, so she strikes back, and she is ruthless. She builds up walls around her and hardens her exterior. This allows her to be harsh to others without feeling bad about it. In her eyes, she is just doing what is right and not allowing the bullies of the world to get away with things.

But then when her senior year starts, Alexis is teamed up with the dreamy quarterback for a class project. She assumes that he is going to be just like all of the other popular kids, but as she gets to know him she starts to realize that she is wrong about him.

I really liked that this book wasn’t predictable. It didn’t have the typical ending where everything ends up perfect and happy, and the main character ends up finding love. I get so tired of books that all end that way, so it was refreshing to see it end differently than most. That being said, it isn’t a sad ending either, but rather a hopeful one that leaves the story line open to continuation in another book.

I give this book 5/5 stars for keeping me very entertained and not being like every other book out there.

Confessions of a Queen B* goes on sale July 28, 2015. You can click the book’s cover above to order your copy.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Categories
Book Reviews

Naked – Book Review

Naked - Book Review

Plot:

When tough teenager Anna ran away to New York, she never knew how bad things would get. After surviving as a prostitute, a terrifying incident leaves her damaged inside and out, and she returns home to the parents she was sure wouldn’t want her anymore.
Now she has a chance to be normal again. Back in school, she meets a boy who seems too good to be true. Cute, kind, trusting. But what will he do when he finds out the truth about her past? And when a dark figure from New York comes looking for Anna, she realizes she must face her secrets…before they destroy her.

Review:

I did not expect to enjoy this book. Boy was I wrong.

Anna has had a rough life. She grew up in a household where her father expected her to be the perfect child and do everything that he wants her to do, or rather not do. Nothing she did was ever good enough for her controlling father. So at the age of 13, she runs away from her family to New York City, where she dreams of singing on Broadway. Obviously, this doesn’t go as planned for her. Once she arrives in New York, she is wooed by Luis, who eventually starts pimping Anna out to his friends for sex, in exchange for money. This goes on for three years before Anna is brought in to the police and sent back to her parents.

Once she’s back home, things are still horrible. Her father is ashamed of the things that Anna has done and only cares about how it will make him look if people find out what she did for the three years that she was missing. To make things worse, Anna’s mother refuses to stand up to her father, even though she knows that the way he is treating Anna is wrong.

This book is all about overcoming your fears and just being honest with yourself and others. Anna can’t be happy with herself and move on until she has accepted the things that she has done in her past and come to terms with it. Once she does this, she feels a weight lifted off of her shoulders and can actually start to recover from what she has experienced.

Anna also learns to stand up for herself to her father, and realize that even though he is her father, the way that he treats her and her mother is wrong and abusive.

Along the way, Anna makes some great friends who are there for her no matter what, even when she thinks that they won’t want to be associated with her when they know the real truth about her. Anna even helps out someone who has never been nice to her, because she wants to help this girl regain control over her life and get out from underneath her controlling, blackmailing boyfriend.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

Naked is on sale today. You can click the image of the book’s cover above to order your copy.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Categories
Book Reviews

A Million Miles Away – Book Review

A Million Miles Away

Plot:

When high school senior Kelsey’s identical twin sister, Michelle, dies in a car crash, Kelsey is left without her other half. The only person who doesn’t know about the tragedy is Michelle’s boyfriend, Peter, recently deployed to Afghanistan. But when Kelsey finally connects with Peter online, she can’t bear to tell him the truth. Active duty has taken its toll, and Peter, thinking that Kelsey is Michelle, says that seeing her is the one thing keeping him alive. Caught up in the moment, Kelsey has no choice: She lets Peter believe that she is her sister.

As Kelsey keeps up the act, she crosses the line from pretend to real. Soon, Kelsey can’t deny that she’s falling, hard, for the one boy she shouldn’t want.

Review:

I wasn’t too sure how I was going to feel about this book when I started reading it, but it surprised me in a good way.

Kelsey Maxfield has a pretty easy life. She goes to school, is on her high school’s dance team, and dreams of going to the college in her hometown and joining their elite dance team. But her life crumbles around her when her twin sister Michelle dies in a car accident on her way back from taking her boyfriend Peter to the airport.

Kelsey doesn’t know much about her sister’s boyfriend except that he is being deployed to Afghanistan. She has no way of getting in touch with him to let him know what’s happened. Then one day, while Kelsey is on Michelle’s computer to delete her Facebook, she gets a Skype call from Peter. She answers it, and of course Peter thinks that she is Michelle, seeing as they’re twins. Kelsey doesn’t have it in her to tell Peter the truth, especially after Peter tells her that she is the only thing keeping him going while he is overseas.

Kelsey keeps up the ruse, because it makes her feel close to her sister and like she isn’t gone yet. Slowly, Kelsey starts to fall for Peter, but she still doesn’t know how to tell him the truth about her sister’s death, so she continues pretending to be Michelle.

I didn’t see this book ending well, at all. I couldn’t see a scenario where Kelsey could tell Peter the truth and that he wouldn’t be furious with her. The ending to the book actually surprised me a few times by making me think one thing was going to happen, only to blindside me with something else happening, and then yet another surprise at the end. It was like a very pleasant rollercoaster and I loved how the book ended.

When Kelsey loses her sister, she doesn’t know who she is anymore. While her sister was around, she felt like she knew who she was because she wasn’t her sister, so she at least knew who she wasn’t. But after Michelle passes, Kelsey has trouble finding herself and discovering what she does and doesn’t like or believe in. In a way, pretending to be Michelle helps her to discover who she really is and what is the most important to her.

I don’t agree with Kelsey’s actions but they made for an interesting story to say the least. I enjoyed her journey of realizing what she really wants out of her life and how losing her sister helped her to do it. I give this book 4/5 stars.

A Million Miles Away goes on sale tomorrow, July 7. You can order it by clicking the image of the book’s cover above.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.